Hasta La Gadget!

ZTE’s sub-label Nubia may want a refresher on the definition of “mini,” because we’re not seeing many sacrifices in its just-shipped Z5 mini. At 4.7 inches, the Android phone is nearly as large as the 5-inch Z5 flagship; it also shares the bigger Z5’s quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB of RAM, 2,300mAh battery, 13MP f/2.2 rear camera and 5MP front camera. The mini is likewise a first-class citizen in its home country with 3G support for China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. Prospective owners are only really giving up screen resolution (down to 720p) and storage (down to 16GB), and they’re getting a choice of pastel-colored, replaceable backs in return. As such, that makes the Z5 mini a potential bargain at its ¥1,888 ($308) price — buyers are getting most of the Z5 experience for considerably less cash.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Engadget Chinese (translated)

Source: JD.com (translated), Zealer China (Sina Weibo)

ISS Flight Engineers Chris Cassidy and Luca Parmitano are set to commence a spacewalk on the ISS today starting at 8:10 ET. The pair will undertake the final installation of bypass jumpers, providing essential power redundancy to critical components. Other tasks to be completed on the walk include replacing a video camera, relocating wireless television kit and performing vital checks on component door covers. This will be the fifth spacewalk performed on the ISS this year, and the 171st in support of the station overall. You can watch the preliminaries right now, or head back at 8:10 to catch the action.

Update: As those watching will be aware, the spacewalk wound up being cut considerably short due to a water leak in astronaut Luca Parmitano’s helmet that required him to be assisted back inside the space station.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Source: NASA

Well over two years after the original graced Boost Mobile’s shelves, Samsung’s Galaxy Prevail II is being announced for the same carrier. Available for just $179.99 in off-contract form, the handset ships with Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), a 4-inch WVGA touchscreen, 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front-facing cam, and a 1.4GHz processor. You’ll also find a 1,750mAh battery, inbuilt GPS / WiFi modules and Bluetooth 4.0. The prepaid carrier is hawking this on its contract-free $55 / month plan, which just so happens to shrink by $5 per month for every six on-time payments — in other words, those who hang around long enough will eventually be paying as little as $40 / month for nationwide talk, text and picture messaging, as well as web access. Not too shabby, eh?

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: Boost Mobile

“Do a little. Change a lot.” That’s the motto behind One Today — a Google-built app that launched a few months ago to those who requested an invite. Now, however, it’s free to download for all Android users in the United States, enabling those who do to donate a dollar per day (or more, of course) to an ever-changing list of nonprofit organizations. Each day a new project will be showcased, replete with details on what it’s about, who it’s helping and how it’s operated. Naturally, you’ll be able to make your donations public on Google+, and you can keep a log of your charitable givings within the app itself — ideal for tax writeoffs. There’s still no word on when it’ll go global, but statesiders can hit the source link to begin their download.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Via: Android Police

Source: Google Play Store

We’ve known for a while that a MetroPCS-friendly version of Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 was in the cards, but the carrier hasn’t been very forthcoming with its plans. At least, until now — the company just posted a teaser on Twitter for a Samsung-based launch next week. While the text is slightly cryptic, the mention of a Galaxy S III “+1” makes it quite clear that the 2013 Galaxy flagship is what’s on deck. This variant won’t have HSPA for the T-Mobile network, at least if it’s anything like what we saw at the FCC, but it should include LTE support. Let’s just hope that the phone ships quickly — MetroPCS customers have been waiting long enough.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, T-Mobile

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Source: MetroPCS (Twitter)